This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to the manufacture of shoes and is especially concerned with improvements in pad boxes suitable for use in applying pressure to the bottoms of shoes.
The term "shoe" is used herein generically to include outer footwear generally whether ready for wear or in the course of manufacture and the term "sole" is used herein to include sole and heel units formed in one piece or assembled prior to attachment to shoes.
It is a well-known operation in the manufacture of shoes having a sole attached by means of adhesive composition to apply pressure thereto after the sole has been positioned on the bottom of the shoe in order to effect a firm bond. This operation is carried out using a pad box including shoe bottom engaging material which conforms to the shape of the bottom of the shoe to enable pressure to be applied substantially uniformly over the bottom of the shoe. The pad box is mounted in a press and the shoe positioned on the pad box and pressure is applied thereto by operation of the press. However, as shoes differ widely in shape and size, it is desirable that a pad box be capable of being adjusted so that shoe bottom engaging material thereof can conform to a wide range of shoe bottom shapes and sizes. Furthermore, it is desirable that a pad box be capable of easy and rapid conformity.
In the prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,501,789 and 2,656,553 may be noted as disclosing pad box structure of interest in providing conformity.
It is one of the various objects of the present invention to provide an improved pad box suitable for use in applying pressure to the bottom of a shoe, which pad box is capable of easy and rapid adjustment to conform to a variety of shoe bottom shapes and sizes.
There is hereinafter described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a pad box suitable for use in applying pressure to the bottom of a shoe which illustrates the invention by way of example. The illustrative pad box comprises a framework which comprises two side plates and transversely-extending members which interconnect the side plates. The framework supports the remaining parts of the pad box and can be mounted in a press so that the box can be used in applying pressure to the bottom of a shoe. The illustrative pad box also comprises a support for the shoe bottom engaging material mounted for pivoting movement on the framework of the box. The support comprises a first supporting member which is pivoted on the framework so that the support can pivot bodily, and a second supporting member which is pivoted on the first supporting member.
The illustrative pad box also comprises shoe bottom engaging material extending over the first and the second supporting members. This material is in the form of a leather sheet which is so arranged that, when the illustrative pad box is in use to apply pressure to the bottom of a shoe, a portion of the leather sheet supported by the first supporting member engages a forepart portion of the shoe bottom and a portion of the leather sheet supported by the second supporting member engages a waist portion of the shoe bottom. In order that the angle between the first and the second supporting members may be adjusted to conform to the angle between the forepart portion and the waist portion of the bottom of a shoe, the illustrative pad box comprises first means for adjustably pivoting the second supporting member on the first supporting member. The first adjustment means comprises a screw mounted for rotation on the first supporting member to move a block connected to the second supporting member thereby causing the second supporting member to pivot about its pivotal interconnection with the first supporting member.
The illustrative pad box also comprises second adjustment means by which the support comprising the first and second supporting members may be adjusted by being pivoted relative to the framework without alteration of a selected angle between the two supporting members. The second adjustment means comprises an adjustment screw pivotally mounted on the framework and arranged to move a block which is pivotally interconnected with the first supporting member thereby to cause the support to pivot bodily on the framework. This adjustment allows the support to be adjusted pivotally to bring a surface of a last, on which a shoe is supported, substantially parallel to a surface of a post of a press in which the illustrative pad box is mounted. The post of the press can then suitably apply distributed pressure to the last and therefore to the bottom of the shoe on the last.
The illustrative pad box also comprises adjustment means for varying the length of the second supporting member. This adjustment means comprises a pair of screws arranged to move two bars of the second supporting member relative to one another to alter the length of the support effectively given by the second supporting member to the leather sheet. These bar portions of the second supporting member are slidable relative to one another so that their combined length can be adjusted while still providing a substantially continuous supporting surface for the leather sheet. This allows the pad box to be adjusted so that the length of the second supporting member conforms to the length of the waist portion of the bottom of the shoe.
If it is desired to use the illustrative pad box to apply pressure to the bottom of a shoe to which a heel has not yet been attached, a supporting member in the form of a plate of the illustrative pad box can be used to support shoe bottom engaging material in the form of a rubber pad and arranged to apply pressure to the heel portion of the bottom of the shoe. The plate can be adjusted in inclination, height and longitudinal position to conform to the second supporting member.